Visitors
by The Sin they called Pride
Summary: After her sentencing, Rose is told that she's allowed to have one visitor per day. Seven days before she's set to be executed, Rose calls the visitors in, one by one, hoping to say goodbye, losing hope as each visitor walks out.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I don't own anything in the story. Richelle Mead does. She's just that awesome, you guys.

So this is my first story in a LONG time. I'm trying to get back into the groove of writing. My days are busy with work and school, so don't get mad if I don't update the very next day!

NOTE: This is somewhat A/U. This is what I thought would happen if Rose had given up. These are the days leading up to her execution.

**Prologue**

_Rosemarie Hathaway, you are hereby sentenced to be executed in seven days._

So...that was it._  
_

"As they told you yesterday after the sentencing, you're allowed visitors." The Guardian standing in front of her cell said.

Rose didn't know who this one was. She barely remembered being brought to her cell. She had been so numb after the sentence was read. The visiting thing was obviously for saying her so longs and farewells.

_That was it._

"Once per day, right up till the day before your execution. You want one now?" The Guardian continued.

Rose looked down at her shackled wrists thoughtfully. They had shackled her wrists the moment they said she was bound to be executed. She guessed they were not taking any chances. The Moroi world was in an uproar. Justice had to be served and she happened to be that sacrificial lamb. Her death would bring peace...or so they thought.

_An innocent sacrificial lamb._

"Yes." Rose finally said, looking up at him.

"Who?" The Guardian asked.

She told him.

* * *

Note: It's been a long time, kids! :) I'm slowly getting back to my feet! Next one...


	2. Day One

Disclaimer: RICHELLE MEAD OWNS ALL!

Note: This will be a fast one. Hold on tight!

* * *

Day One: Abe Mazur

Abraham Mazur refused to say goodbye.

He was someone who was not used to not getting his way. He had cheated, bullied his way into getting the things he wanted. That was why they called him Zmey. He was dangerous. He bent people's wills easily. He stared down people into submission. He was Zmey and he had nothing to fear.

Except now.

His daughter had lost her court case. There was a unanimous decision to execute her. Stupid Moroi, all of them. This was one of the very few times things didn't go his way. His daughter, his only child, was going to be executed for a murder she did not commit.

"It's not over." He practically growled when he walked into the dungeon where Rose was being held.

His daughter sat on the floor and looked up with him with wide eyes…eyes that were wide only because she had stopped eating days before. They now had a sunken look to them and he hated it. He briefly considered bullying her as well, like he did with the others, but from his past experiences, his daughter didn't take his bullying well. If she was pushed, she pushed back.

Abe had never really been present for most of his only child's life, something he now regretted profoundly. She was so much like him. So what if they didn't have an ordinary Father-Daughter relationship? There were no Little League games to attend, no Parent-Teacher meetings to go to and no boyfriends to terrorize..., wait, no, there was that one boy, right? He had some potential. Okay, so he didn't _exactly _take her out to dinner to gently reveal that he was, in fact, her Father. Instead, he had just swept into her life when he found out what she was up to in Russia. He tried to cajole, bribe, bully, harass, torment and intimidate Rose into doing what he said (_and, really, all that was done for love_, he thought). But she wasn't just any ordinary dhampir. She was Rose Hathaway, daughter of Janine and Abe Mazur...so, naturally, she didn't cave.

_If she had, I would have wondered if she was really my child_, he thought with dark humor.

Well, now that he had decided to be involved in her life (no Little League games, but he did manage to terrorize the boyfriend, which _had _to count for something), she was set to be executed in seven days.

_Seven days_.

There was absolutely no way he would let her die.

"We'll get you out of here." Abe looked fierce as he said this, "I swear, they will not execute you, Rose. I forbid it."

Rose reluctantly smiled.

"And that will stop everything, I'm sure." She said, "Go tell the council you forbid it."

Abe didn't like how her voice sounded: she sounded tired, but not only because she had not eaten in a while, but because something had broken within her.

"I'm serious." Abe replied, shaking his head, "I will find a way, Rose. You are my child and I will do whatever it takes, even break you out of here."

Rose nodded slowly.

Okay, good. She seemed to be accepting this. He had seven days…seven days to come up with a plan and he had to come up with it fast.

_Or watch her get staked_.

"I know this visitor crap is the when I'm supposed to say goodbye." Abe said, turning away from her, "But I refuse to."

And so he left, determined to bring down heaven and destroy earth…all to save his child.

* * *

P.S: Whew. Abe was a whirlwind. A little bit of what Rose thought during Abe's visit will be explained on the next Prelude.


	3. Prelude 1

Disclaimer: RICHELLE MEAD OWNS ALL!

Prelude to Day Two

_Rose touched the shackles on her wrists, thinking about Abe's visit. She had barely managed to get a word in. Abe was like a hurricane that day and she somehow understood. Maybe staying too long meant coming to terms with the fact that she had lost her case and was going to kick the bucket, so he had come in, said his words and left just as fast. _

_She smiled. She had not been surprised at all. If Abe was going to come up with something…she shook her head._

_No. Don't think that._

_She couldn't take anymore disappointments and let downs.  
_

_"How was the visit from your Dad?" Mikhail asked, bringing in some food._

_Rose didn't know why he kept insisting on bringing in the food. She never touched them._

_"Fast." Rose answered dryly._

_"Hopefully…the next one won't be." He said, "Who do you want to come in?"_

_That one was easy._

_"My Mom, Janine Hathaway." She replied._


	4. Day Two

**Disclaimer:** Richelle Mead owns all!

Note: Hey again! So a lot of you commented on how short Abe's visit was. I hope Rose's thoughts in the prelude explained why that was so. It couldn't have been easy to be Abe Mazur that day.

Song featured: Prayer of the Children.

* * *

"I never knew how difficult it could be…to be both a Mother and a Guardian at the same time."

_Janine Hathaway_

* * *

**Day Two: Janine Hathaway**

"_She's not herself, Janine." Abe had said softly, "It's like she's…given up." _

She was stalling and, deep inside her mind, she knew it…but a stubborn part of herself refused to acknowledge it. She was _not_ stalling. Janine Hathaway _never_ stalled. She never really saw the point of stalling. She only saw it as a waste of time….

Yet here she was, sitting in the church, watching the rehearsals for the upcoming choir competition St. Vladimir's was hosting that year. As far as she knew, it was just her, sitting there and observing the St. Vladimir's church choir, practicing their scales.

"_La, la, la, la…_." The choir sang.

So what if the summons had come at the crack of dawn, during her shift as a patrol? Janine had been glad to be back patrolling. She could not distract herself with the thought of the coming week, the events of the past few weeks had been mind boggling.

"_Do, re, mi, fa_…."

No, she was not stalling…she was appreciating the musical talents of the students. It was relaxing to hear the sounds of the choir. She needed to relax, right? Just a time all to herself; no distractions, no Guardians, no gossiping Moroi….

"One, two and three!" The choirmaster waved his hand,

"_Can you hear the prayer of the children_?" The choir began.

Janine flinched. _What_ _a perfect song choice, especially with the recent events_.

"_On bended knee, in the shadow of an unknown room  
Empty eyes with no more tears to cry  
Turning heavenward toward the light_…."

She had to get out of here. She felt a choking sensation climbing up to her throat. She hastily got up and began to walk, breaking into a jog. She didn't want to hear another note, another word of the song.

"_Crying 'Jesus, help me  
To see the morning light of one more day…."_

Janine slowed to a walk only when she reached the track, where some dhampirs where running around the track, huffing and puffing. Impulsively, she jogged into the track to join them. The teacher gave her a strange look, but said no further. The dhampirs running alongside her gave her puzzled looks, shrugged then kept running. She had not realized how many laps she had run until she heard someone catch up to her.

"I knew I'd find you here." Abe Mazur said, jogging easily next to her, "Come rest, Janine. You've been running for over an hour."

An hour? An hour had passed? She slowed down and looked around, finally seeing that the dhampirs that she had joined earlier were already gone. It was just her and Abe on the track.

"I can't." Janine finally said, "I have to keep running."

_Running from what? From everything. From the execution, from Abe, from Rose…._

She took one step, ready to begin jogging again when Abe's hand reached out, holding her back. His eyes were intent on hers, filled with understanding. She flinched for the second time that day. It always scared her how Abe seemed to know her so well.

"Janine," Abe said firmly, "Sit down with me at the bleachers and take a rest. You need some water."

"Abe," Janine shook her arm out of his grasp, "I'm fine. I want to keep running. I don't need any water. I can keep going."

"No, Janine, you can't." Abe replied, a steely note creeping into his voice, "Stop running."

"I have to." She countered, ready to run again, had it not been for Abe reaching out once more to hold her arm,

"Why?" He demanded. Abe sighed and his voice softened. "Stop running, Janine. Rose...she's called for you. She needs you. She might not admit it, but she does. You're just-"

"Don't," Janine interrupted with a glare, "Don't you dare even think about completing that sentence! I'm not-"

"Scared!" Abe exclaimed, his hands thrown up in the air, "You're scared, Janine, and you're not the only one."

She began to tremble and gritted her teeth.

"She's my child, too." Abe continued softly, "She's practically Vasilisa's sister. She's scared. That boy Ivashkov is in love with her. He's scared out of his wits too. You can't deal with this alone."

He laid his hands on her shoulders.

"Deep breaths, Janine." When she looked up, she saw that his eyes were fierce. "I'm leaving but I'll be back soon. For now, go see Rose. She needs you."

* * *

"About time you showed up, Mom."

An hour after Abe left her alone at the track, Janine finally convinced herself to go see Rose. The Guardians posted by the door nodded at her in greeting. They all knew each other from patrolling duties around the Royal Court. They knew that Janine felt the excruciating pain of the past events (and the one that was inevitably coming, it seems).

_Oh, if they only knew. No one else has a daughter who murdered the sovereign._

However, there was no pity in their eyes, just understanding: as Guardians, they were to uphold and stand by the law governing their world. Rose was a convicted murderer. Even if Janine was her Mother, there was nothing that could be done to save Rose.

Rose could not contain the sassy remark when Janine walked in. It was good to see that there was a little bit of sass still left. The voice was the same, but she looked extremely different. She looked worn-out.

"I…came because they said you called for me." Janine said hesitantly.

Rose stared beyond the bars separating her and her Mother. Janine felt awkward beneath Rose's stare. It seemed to penetrate through her, like she knew that Janine didn't really know what to say, that she felt like a horrible Mother not being able to save her from being executed.

"I did." Rose finally answered, "I just wanted to see you, Mom."

When was the last time Rose had wanted to see her? Janine's mind flashed back towards the tragic events at Spokane. She had seen one of her closest friends killed right in front of her eyes and on the plane ride back, Rose had asked to see Janine and had wept all the sadness and anger out on her Mother's shoulder.

_A young woman approached and touched her arm._

"_Guardian Belikov?" Mia Rinaldi had said softly, _

"_Yes?" _

"_It's Rose. She wants to see you."_

"I have a question," Rose broke through Janine's memory of that plane from Spokane a long time ago, "And you have to answer honestly."

"When have I ever been dishonest to you?" Janine replied tartly.

The reply brought the ghost of a smile on Rose's pale face.

"I don't think you ever were." Rose said, "But I just want to make sure."

"Well, what's the question?" Janine asked.

As Rose once again stared at her with those wide eyes, Janine had a sinking feeling in her stomach. The look on Rose's face told her that she was not at all going to like this question.

"Do you really think I killed the Queen?" Rose said after a long pause.

Janine froze. Did she really kill the Queen? Janine was a big believer of upholding the laws as a Guardian. She almost always didn't question them…until now, until it hit her straight through the heart like this. The court had come up with a lot of damaging evidence against Rose: the stake used to kill Tatiana had been Rose's, a shady alibi, circumstantial evidence etc. Normally, seeing all the evidence, Janine would support the decision of the court, but…Rose?

She could see how important the question was for Rose, who continued to watch her Mother from behind the bars.

_I never knew how difficult it could be…to be both a Mother and a Guardian at the same time._

Her Mothering side warred with her Guardian side. Janine knew her daughter well enough to know that she wouldn't do something like this. Rose was wild and could be outrageous at times, but not to the point of murdering the Queen. She had more sense than that.

_Did Rose kill the Queen?_

"No." Janine answered firmly, "I don't believe that you did."

For the first time since the court had taken her in to charge her, she saw Rose smile.

An actual, sincere smile.

"Thanks." Rose said, "I really needed to hear that from you."

Somehow, Janine had found a way to combine both Mother and Guardian at that moment.

"Abe and I will do our best to turn this around, Rose." Janine promised, "We will not go down without a fight."

Abe was right. There was no way she could stand by idly while her daughter walked to her death. The question now was...how were they going to save her?

* * *

Whew! Sorry for the long delay. I honestly had a tough time writing out Janine's side of the story. After all, I'm not a Mom...not yet, anyway, but I saw her as a woman who was having a hard time trying to balance the role of a Mother and a tough Guardian at the same time. In the end, she got the strength of a Mother and the intuition of a Guardian to help make the decision for her.

Guess who's next? :)


	5. Prelude 2

Disclaimer: Richelle Mead OWNS IT ALL!

* * *

**Prelude to Day Three**

_Rose was smiling when Mikhail came in with her breakfast the morning after Janine's visit. It surprised him to see her smiling; a real, genuine smile that made her eyes crinkle._

_"You seem to be happier today." Mikhail commented carefully,_

_"I had a funny dream last night." Rose said,_

_"That's good to hear." He said with a grin._

_It was good to see her smile. She needed these moments._

_"Maybe we can keep this happy good going with a visit." He said, "Who do you want me to call?"_

_The dream had answered the question for her. She had planned to see him later, maybe after a couple of other people, but he had relentlessly bothered her last night._

**_"It's time to see me, Little Dhampir." He had said._**

_"Can you go get Adrian Ivashkov for me?"_


End file.
